Escape, Sunday Herald Sun, Australia
By Caron James
MOSCOW - the place where they all queue for hours for a loaf of bread. Live cramped in tiny apartments and wont speak to foreigners. Right? Wrong according to British expatriate Tony Mercer the stereotypical image of Moscow as being bleak, impoverished and sad is just not true.
Mercer should know. The famous Imperial Ice Stars producer, whose latest show Swan Lake On Ice is in Melbourne, has chosen to live in Moscow over anywhere in Britain. "Every time I go back to England, it's getting worse," says Manchester-born Mercer.
"The health system is a mess and the education system is bad." He chose to move permanently to Moscow with his Russian-born wife skater Maria Orlova six years ago. They built a house out of the city that "has a typically English feel about it, but a lot of Spanish", where they live with their son, Sean, 4. Mercer has learnt to speak Russian, though he says his son patiently corrects his grammar and vocabulary. And he says Moscow is his home and he has no intention of moving. "Moscow is not what you may think. It's a very fast-moving city - it's a roller-coaster. There are wonderful restaurants everywhere I particularly like Georgian food," he said.
"The centre of Moscow is all apartment living, but that's not so out of the city. In fact there's a vibrant real estate market. There are beautiful houses. Townhouses are the in thing." Mercer advises visitors to Moscow to meet the locals - there's so much outside Moscow. Tourists all go into the central city where it's very hard to engage with Russian people" he said. "Take a train and travel to the countryside where people go for the weekends. Don't be intimidated or afraid to talk to people. "If you make a friend of a Russian you'll have a friend for life."
Swan Lake on Ice is on at the Princess Theatre. 189 Spring St Melbourne, until July 1.
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